Jobseekers Lured to Ohio Farm Then Shot, Leaving 1 Dead
- Posted on November 18, 2011 at 7:49am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A jobseeker from Florida who responded to a bogus Craigslist ad for a job on a southeast Ohio cattle farm was found dead, buried in a shallow grave, and another from South Carolina was shot but escaped by running away through the woods, a sheriff said Thursday.
Noble County Sheriff Stephen Hannum said two men were taken into custody after cadaver dogs found the body of the Florida man this week in a grave in a remote area outside Caldwell, a small village about 80 miles east of Columbus.
The Akron Beacon Journal identified the two as a 16-year-old student from Stow-Munroe Falls High School and a 52-year-old Akron man.
The adult is being held in the Summit County Jail on $1 million bond, the newspaper said. His attorney could not be reached for comment. No further information was available about the juvenile.
Hannum said the search was undertaken after the South Carolina man escaped from the area on Nov. 6 and notified police, who later found a hand-dug grave authorities believe had been meant for him. AFP has the shocking details:
The middle-aged man told police that he met two people for breakfast in a little town called Marietta to discuss the job.
The asked him to drive out to see the farm and got him to walk in some woods after telling him the road was closed due to a landslide.
As they got deeper into the woods, he heard what sounded like a gun being cocked and turned around to see a gun pointed at his head.
“He deflected the gun and ran. As he was running from the gunman he was shot in the arm. The gunman continued to shoot as the victim ran,” Hannum said.
The man hid for seven hours in the woods and walked about two miles (three kilometers) away before feeling safe enough to seek help.
An autopsy on the Florida man was being performed Thursday in Licking County, outside Columbus, and Hannum said names of the suspects and victims were being withheld until at least Friday.
Authorities received a call five days after the South Carolina man was shot from the Florida man’s twin sister, concerned that her brother had not been heard from since Oct. 22 in Parkersburg, W.Va., the sheriff said. The twin, in Boston, said her brother had responded to what she believed was the same Craigslist ad, which sought a caretaker for cattle on a 688-acre farm.
The sheriff said the South Carolina man had been told to carry his belongings to Ohio because he’d be living at the farm, and robbery was believed to be the motive.
“It seems that this was just a ruse to lure victims into the trap, most likely to commit a murder and relieve the deceased of their personal property,” Hannum said.
He said it was unknown how long the ad had been online or how many people may have responded.
The sheriff said the call prompted officers to return to the remote area, where they found the grave believed to have been intended for the South Carolina man.
“A grave obviously had been dug that we assume had been dug for him, but he was shot and wounded and he got away,” Hannum said. “We brought in cadaver dogs thinking that a possibility that the person that was advertising on Craigslist and lured this guy down here may very well have lured someone else to the same area. Our hunch was correct.”
The cadaver search began Monday, and officers found the body the following day. The suspects were arrested Wednesday in Summit County, in northeast Ohio, about 90 miles away.
The Craigslist website, which features free classified ads for housing, jobs, personal announcements, items for sale and services, among other things, has been blamed for a number of deaths, including that of a New York City masseuse who authorities say was killed in 2009 by a Boston medical student she met through the site.
More recently, in September, the last of four defendants was sentenced in the 2010 killing of a Tacoma, Wash.-area man in a home robbery during which the group pretended to be interested in a diamond ring advertised on Craigslist.
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has urged people to take precautions when using the site.
“It’s been devastating to see that it can also be used by bad people to take cruel advantage of others,” he said in 2009 at a ceremony honoring a Minnesota woman who died after responding to a phony ad for a baby sitter.
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proudohiomom
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:10pmIt was not just robbery. He is in my daughters class, she was just talking to me about how no one was surprised when they heard it was him. She said last year when she sat by him he used to talk about ways to kill people.
Report Post »MUDFLAPS
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:45pmfind who did it… take him out into a field and drop a cap in him.
Report Post »ranchoazulmt
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 4:48pmThis is really terrible that someone would use a job as leverage! One from SC and the other from FL. They went to OH and instead of a job they get a gun! That is really twisted to use the bad economy to further your serial murder scheme!
Report Post »Maybe God will have mercy on your souls because I don’t think the families will.
I pray for the man still alive to ensure that eye witness testimony gets them in the end. You can speak for the one that was not so lucky. God bless.
Bakko Bomma
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:02amWhat’s with Ohio all this stuff happens there?
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 3:12pmThere are crazy people… but not restricted to a Place. If anything, Flordia and California are better examples!
Report Post »pamela kay
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 4:43pmI am from Ohio and I am shocked. It seems to be having allot of problems lately. I don’t know what else to say. That area is only about 4 hrs from where I live. It is scarey.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 10:51amWhat…..ran out of pink slips????
Report Post »encinom
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 10:30amIts the GOP plan to deal with the jobless and the rest of the 99%.
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:04amFunny (stupid) since conservatives have passed at least 20 different jobs bill and seen them ALL buried in committee by Harry Reid where each one died. Your lies are really quite ineffective at hiding the truth, TROLL.
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:06amQuite a stupid lie on your part since it has been conservatives who have been passing jobs bill after jobs bill, only to see them killed by Harry Reid in the Senate…..Who is the real killer here, TROLL?
Report Post »encinom
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:16amTax cuts for the 1% and gutting regulatory agencies do not produce jobs, they reward the corporate donors to the GOP. Truth and facts are not n the GOP talking points.
Report Post »JRook
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:30am@C. Schwehr Ok you really can’t just repeat the stuff coming from Rush and the other purveyors of misinformation. A bill to cut taxes on the wealthy and businesses is not a jobs bill. A bill to cut regulations is not a jobs bill. A bill to eliminate the EPA is not a jobs bill. The wealthy do not create jobs, small businesses don’t create jobs. Demand creates jobs. The wealthy, mutual funds, and even regular individuals provide the capital through investment to meet the demand. It’s all about demand.
Report Post »Gamaliel
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:52amNo, this was not the GOP plan for unemployment. It‘s Bush’s fault. Or has that line worn out for you useful idiots.
Report Post »LetUsReason
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 12:00pm@ Encinom
It does both. But raising taxes on the 1% screws everyone.
Report Post »ranchoazulmt
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 4:49pmI really wish you would troll somewhere else…
Report Post »Vitalissue
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:36amThat is so sad….the world is full of all kinds of demons, human demons
Report Post »JRook
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:36amWho are allowed to buy guns. We need better registration laws and perhaps mandatory psychological tests. People like this should not be allowed to buy guns legally.
Report Post »JMorcan
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 1:32pmGuns, yeah, that’s the problem. Ya can’t kill anyone with a knife, a bow, a sledgehammer or a brick.
Report Post »TexasHunter
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 4:59pmJROOK, You better believe that I would of had mine on my hip. This would not of happened. It is a shame that they weren’t prepared for the worse because you never know what really is around the corner these days.
Report Post »WeekendAtBernankes
Posted on November 19, 2011 at 1:33pm@JRook I think they ought to give The Blaze commenters a psychological test before they post, because your cheese has really slid off your *******. I hope you‘re only 16 years old because that’s the impression I get from your posts.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:30amWoW…sicko.
Report Post »np
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:20amCraigslist is actually a great tool for police. It helps them to find stupid criminals. They don’t have any idea the tracks that lead right back to them if they reply to an add or post an ad. Even if they use a free email account, their IP address is retained every time they access it. If they call someone, their phone number will show up, then the police can track their cell location and see if they were near the crime scene. All it takes is some form letters to the ISPs and cell phone carriers and they fall all over themselves coughing up information. Finding the perps is like taking candy from a baby.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:15amagree. some idiot robbed my aunts house and tried to sell the items on craigslist. some people are beyond dumb. here’s to hoping the juvenile is charged as an adult in this case
Report Post »Crazy Robert
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:15amWe live in South Carolina and we may have to move soon because there are NO jobs anywhere in the state. Only a loon would move from the north to live here!!! That includes Florida too, don’t move here; you have been warned!
Report Post »C. Schwehr
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 11:08amTry Texas…or North Dakota….they have oil booms going on there, and are hiring a lot of people…
Report Post »mrsmileyface
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:00amJust waiting for Feds to pick this story up and run with it so that they can force the issue once again to regulate the interwebs. Times-a-wastin’ Washington.
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:51amGlad the one guy got away and to authorities.
Report Post »ThomasUSA
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:46amCraigslist has become the Dark, crime-infested alley of the internet.
I checked out a “too good to be true” ad for a car… It was easy to find on the internet, the warnings that sited this very ad and how the scam was set up… I played along with the person via email and it was like clock work how they proceeded.. Why did Craigslist continue to keep this ad?
They’ve gone from stealing to murder… Buyer Be Ware!
Report Post »12thArticle
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:53amHey, Its life. Things like this just happen. Right?
Report Post »UrbanCombatSurvivor
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:35amAnd when exactly are the articles about this going to mention that the killers are gay?
Report Post »Goobergregory
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:48amWhere did you find that piece of information? Is the a link to another story you could share that elludes to that??? Or, do you know these men personally? I didn’t see any reference to their sexual persuasion in this story.
Report Post »dgktowntx
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:33amIts not a village….its a town…or a city…..Michelle Obama…..we have to change our traditions and our history………………………
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:32amYes , we must now make a law to ban craigslist of advertising jobs for farm hands with property of over 600 acres under 600 acre will be ok.. With this bill we can slide in more money for the EPA and Dept of ED …. Yea or Nea ?
Report Post »heretic
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:27amA society can be judged by what it is willing to commit murder for: food & water, shelter, a mate, ideology and finally entertainment. By the time a society reaches the final stage it has nearly reached the point of colapse and anarchy, defaulting back to killing for first needs ( food water and shelter).
Report Post »demint.disciple
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:33amHuh ?
Report Post »UrbanCombatSurvivor
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:36amOr in this case, gay rape?
Report Post »thop1960
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:26amGoes to show you need to carry a concealed weapon, even to a job interview…
The world is upside down. You can’t afford to “assume” people are good and will help you when you need it. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Most people will leave you bleeding along side the road and only stop to pick your pocket. Reality is a bitch.
Report Post »ares338
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:18amI had only one transaction on CL. I met the couple at a McDonalds first and vetted them before I took them to my house. They were elderly but I still kept my guard up!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:29amI have bought and sold a few guitars on there myself and like you, I don’t meet anyone at my house. Lots a crazy people out there.
Report Post »quicker
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:13amThereware sick people all over .This nothing new .I beleive that it was in Californa, one enterprizing pig farmer was feeding his hired hands to the pigs.
Report Post »sawbuck
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:09amCome to Ohio..? for a job ? They didnt get the memo.
Report Post »This story is right out of a horror flick. or a good plot for one.
The world has gone mad.
maumau
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:04amyour exactly right you get crazy isolated farmers give them a gun and way too many movies and this is what happens
Report Post »JQCitizen
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:07amTough times reveal our true character.
How sad that two people who revealed THE BEST of America, willing to travel SO FAR to find work, should cross paths with THE WORST, who took advantage of them.
We must pray for their families; and for justice for the victims.
Report Post »UrbanCombatSurvivor
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:38amAnd these people, who were so desperate for a job that they’d travel across country for one, they would be good targets for a robbery?
No, they wouldn’t. They were completely broke and desperate. But two gay men looking for victims? Yes, makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it? I wonder why that part isn’t being included in the articles. I guess that part isn’t “news”
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:47amNot sure what the motivation was but, I agree it was more than robbery. If you’re willing to kill, there are more profitable targets than these poor souls.
Report Post »Mandors
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:51am“And these people, who were so desperate for a job that they’d travel across country for one, they would be good targets for a robbery?”
Exactly. We’re not getting the real story.
Report Post »LOLReally
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 9:06am@urbancombatsurvivor: they are robbing them because they are traveling from another area and they are assuming they have little or no family to check in like his sister did, then sell or use all of the belongings brought with the person. Most people have something of value, guns, gold, the car itself, knives. So yeah it could be a gay thing but I don’t think so, crazy is crazy wether you take it up the poo shoot or not. Deliverance was just a movie. Should I fear the city because of the movie Saw?
Report Post »Secessionista
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:06amIt is amazing the trash that “free and anonymous” dredges up. The free CL service is flooded with vermin in every nook and cranny. What a waste of a perfectly good innerweb.
Report Post »V-MAN MACE
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:02amWow, that is sickness.
Report Post »